BY DANIEL SCHMIDT

FOR THE OBSERVER

EAST ALABAMA — In the unseasonably chill Halloween air, a line of cars wrapped nearly completely around the Valley First Assembly of God Church. It was just shy of 9 a.m., and each one had come to receive their bimonthly food assistance from the congregation’s food bank mission.

Inside, a handful of parishioners — most well into their sixties and seventies — stacked box upon box onto a flat cart to begin this morning’s drive through. Over the next 30 minutes, they handed out more than 1,800 pounds of food to 20 families after distributing nearly 2,200 pounds to 23 families on Oct. 28.

Among them was Lisa Staples, a 62-year-old disability recipient who has found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet on a fixed income since her husband passed away

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